Tazeen Akhtar
Omani Journalist Association (OJA) is representing Sultanate of Oman in hosting the 31st Congress of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) a 4-day event that started on 31st May and will continue for 4 days at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center in, Muscat the capital city.
The congress gains importance locally, regionally and internationally as the most prominent journalism and media related event in the Middle East. As many as 350 journalists, representing federations,associations and authorities from over 100 countries are taking part in the event.They are in addition to 50 journalists and media personalities who represent newspapers, radio, television channels and e-newspapers from all over the world.
Dr. Mohammed Mubarak Al-Araimi, Chairman of the OJA Board of Directors said that the OJA , in cooperation with the Secretariat General of the IFJ, will announce the Asian Federation for Journalists.
Dr Al-Araimi submitted the proposal of hosting the congress in Sep 2021 at IFJ’s executive office during a video conference. The Sultanate secured 18 votes out of 21, which makes it the second Arab country to host the Congress after Tunisia.
The International Federation had earlier assigned the Association to organize the meetings of the Executive Office between March 13 and 17 in 2020 but due to the prevailing situation of the pandemic , they were postponed four times.
During the opening ceremony of the congress, the Sultanate of Oman’s award for the best press photo in the world will be announced and the families of 5 journalists who deceased on job will be honored.Oman is considered the 2nd Arab country after Tunisia and the 1st Asian country to host the IFJ congress.
Various committees and sub committees under the umbrella of the OJA, named external relations, media, marketing, events, secretarial and financial work have been formed and having their meetings on daily basis.
The journalists are presenting the papers , holding discussions and attending the seminars on economics, tourism, investments, culture, heritage of Sultanate of Oman that will introduce the Sultanate with its potential in different sectors of life. It can give boost to the tourism in the State. Sultanate has arranged tourist site visits for the participants.
